ANALYSES 


OF  TIIE 


WATERS  IN  THE  VICINITY  OF  CINCINNATI; 


REPORTED  TO  TIIE 


TRUSTEES 


THE  CITY  WATER  WORKS, 


BY 


JOHN  LOCKE,  SEN.,  M.  D., 

Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Pharmacy  in  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio; 

and 

JOSEPH  MORRIS  LOCKE, 

Analytical  and  Consulting  Chemist. 


CINCINNATI: 


PRINTED  AT  THE  JOB  ROOMS  OF  THE  CINCINNATI  DAILY  ENQUIRER. 

1353. 


OF 


PROF.  LOCKE  & SON, 


ON  THE 


ANALYSES  OF  THE  WESTERN  WATERS. 


Laboratory  of  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio, 

June  14th,  1853, 


To  the  Trustees  of  the  Cincinnati  Water  Works ; 

Gentlemen — Lewis  Warden,  Esq.,  Superintendent  of  the  City  Water 
Works,  having,  at  your  order,  put  into  our  hands,  on  October  9th,  1852, 
several  specimens  of  water  from  the  Ohio  River  and  other  places,  with 
the  request  that  we  analyze  the  same  and  communicate  the  result  to 
yourselves,  permit  us  to  present  the  following  as  our 


REPORT: 


In  undertaking  the  analyses  of  the  various  available  waters  by  which 


our  city  can  be  supplied,  we  are  impressed  with  a view  of  the  subject 
which  does  not  at  once  strike  every  one  on  the  suggestion  of  such  a work; 
although  undoubtedly  it  has  presented  itself  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Water 
Works,  who  have  directed  its  execution.  The  analysis  of  the  waters  of 
rivers  and  fountains  is  a part  of  the  science  of  the  world,  and  is  important 
as  having  a considerable  weight  with  regard  to  the  health  and  diseases  of 
those  who  use  it;  it  is  thus  one  of  the  conditions  of  human  happiness. 
The  analyses,  besides  their  general  scientific  results,  will  settle  questions 
of  pecuniary  importance  likely  to  be  agitated  directly  by  our  city  authori- 
ties. It  is  evident  that  our  city  might  be  supplied  copiously  with  water 
from  either  of  the  Miamis,  by  natural  hydraulic  descent,  without  the 
expense  of  steam  power,  and  if  the  waters  were  sufficiently  pure  the 
question  might  be  agitated;  but  by  the  analyses  the  water  of  either  of  the 
Miamis  is  shown  to  be  too  highly  charged  with  mineral  matter  to  answer 
well  for  domestic  use.  Thus  is  an  important  question  put  at  rest  at  once. 

Scientifically,  the  analyses  are  important  in  showing  the  relation  between 
the  waters  of  rivers  and  the  geological  strata  through  which  they  run. 
It  is  evident  that  the  composition  of  the  water  will  vary  with  the  stage  of 
the  river  as  being  high  or  low.  But  as  sometimes  happens  one  tributary, 
as  the  Allegheny,  the  Monongahela,  the  Kanawha,  the  Big  Sandy,  the 
Scioto,  the  Miami,  or  the  Licking  will  be  locally  in  flood,  while  the  other 
streams  are  low,  when  it  is  evident  that  the  composition  of  the  water  in 
the  channel  of  the  Ohio  will  approach  that  of  the  river  or  tributary 
whence  it  comes.  But  at  the  lowest  stage  of  summer  drought  it  may  be 


2 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


assumed  that  the  conditions  are  nearly  uniform  and  constant,  and  that 
the  results  in  different  years  will  be  nearly  identical.  Hence,  when  the 
work  of  analysis  has  been  once  performed  under  these  conditions  it  can 
forever  af:er  be  refered  to  as  a standard  of  comparison. 

From  these  and  other  considerations  we  were  led  to  attach  more 
importance  to  the  task  than  popularly  would  be  seen  cause  for,  and  to 
devote  so  much  time  as  would  enable  us  to  do  the  subject  justice. 

There  are  still  several  desiderata  in  reference  to  the  qualities  of  our 
waters.  It  would  be  desirable  that  we  have  the  composition  of  the  water 
at  full  flood,  at  half  flood,  as  well  as  at  extreme  ebb,  and  that  we  have 
an  analysis  of  the  Ohio  water  above  the  point  where  it  begins  to  receive 
waters  from  the  limestone  region  as  above  the  Scioto  River.  Indeed  we 
have  in  part  supplied  this  deficiency  by  taking  some  water  from  the  Ohio 
at  a point  about  twelve  miles  below  Big  Sandy  River,  early  in  May  of 
this  year,  and  examining  the  quantity  of  lime  which  it  contains.  This 
analysis  may  be  taken  as  a sample  of  the  waters  of  the  sand  stone  or  coal 
region  of  the  upper  Ohio. 

The  following  general  classification  has  for  its  foundation  the  degree  to 
which  the  several  waters  are  impregnated  with  foreign  materials,  beginning 
with  those  containing  the  least. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  NATURAL  WATERS. 

First. — Aqua  Atmospheri:a , or  atmospheric  water,  including  rain,  hail, 
snow,  dew  and  frost.  These  are  the  most  pure  forms  in  which  natural 
waters  can  be  obtained,  still  they  often  contain  foreign  matter  derived 
from  the  atmosphere  and  whatever  may  be  floating  in  it. 

Second. — Aqua  Flaviatalis,  river  water.  The  impurities  of  this  vary 
much  according  to  circumstances,  especially  by  the  nature  of  the  soil  and 
rocks  whence  it  is  derived. 

Third. — Aqua  Fontana , spring  and  well  waters.  These  are  the  chief 
source  of  streamlets  and  rivers,  but  as  the  waters  are  supplied  to  them 
immediately  from  the  rocks,  the  clays,  the  sands,  and  the  soils  where 
they  are  located,  they  are  less  pure  than  river  waters;  for  in  their  course 
the  water  of  rivers  deposite  much  of  the  foreign  matter  which  they  receive 
at  their  fountains. 

Fourth. — Aqua:  Medidnales,  medicinal  or  mineral  waters.  This  name 
is  given  to  such  waters  as  are  charged  with  such  ingredients,  and  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  produce  peculiar  effects  on  the  human  system.  Some- 
times they  have  a temperature  unusually  elevated,  when  they  are  called 
thermal  waters.  Mineral  springs  have  ever  attracted  great  popular 
attention,  and  their  analyses  have  been  studiously  preserved,  while 
authors  are  faulty  in  not  recording  more  of  the  analyses  of  river  waters 
in  common  domestic  use. 

Fifth. — Aqua  Oceanica , sea  water.  As  all  saline  matter  entering 
springs  and  rivers  is  carried  more  or  less  to  the  ocean,  whence  the  water 
is  evaporated  or  distilled  into  the  atmosphere  to  be  precipitated  at  the 


ALALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS.  3 

heads  of  rivers  in  a pure  state,  leaving,  always,  the  saline  matter  behind; 
the  ocean  may  be  supposed  to  be  continually  becoming  more  and  more 
saline  and  concentrated.  In  some  small  seas  or  lakes,  having  no  outlet, 
and  around  which  the  earth  is  charged  with  saline  matter,  the  water 
becomes  highly  impregnated  even  to  saturation : as  in  the  case  of  some 
lakes  in  Persia,  the  Dead  Sea,  and  in  the  great  Salt  Lake  of  America. 

From  this  view  it  appears  that  the  dry  land  of  the  earth  is  undergoing 
a perpetual  washing  and  freshening  by  atmospheric  waters,  and  the 
materials  carried  into  the  ocean,  mechanically  and  chemically,  are, 
according  to  the  ^octrines  of  geology,  settled  and  crystalized  into  strata, 
ultimately  to  be  raised  up  by  some  force  of  nature  unknown  to  us,  and  to 
form,  in  their  turn,  dry  and  habitable  land. 

This  land  would  of  course  emerge  saturated  with  all  of  the  oceanic 
salts,  which  must  be  dissolved  slowly  away  by  the  streams  and  rivers 
which  must  necessarily  be  formed. 

The  sources  of  the  Ohio  are  from  a region  not  yet  quite  washed  of  its 
original  oceanic  solution;  for  the  salt-borer  still  finds  between  the  ledges 
of  sand  stone,  at  depths  not  very  considerable,  veins  of  the  original  brine 
having  all  of  the  elements  of  the  present  sea  water.  Even  certain  springs 
called  licks  are  still  supplying  salt  water  to  the  river,  and  hence  muriate 
of  soda,  or  common  salt,  is  detected  in  its  waters. 

By  this  upheaval  of  strata  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean  it  is  that  the 
continued  contribution  of  the  land  to  the  sea  is  restored,  and  that  action 
which  seemed  to  tend  constantly  to  an  ultimate  extreme,  becomes  a revo-~ 
luion  returning  into  itself  and  preserving  an  equilibrium  which  would 
otherwise  unballance  the  present  condition  of  things.  We  have  not  yet 
discovered  the  laws  of  this  revolution  as  we  have  astronomical  periods, 
but  no  doubt  those  laws  exist. 

SOME  SPECIAL  CIRCUMSTANCES  WHICH  MODIFY  WATERS. 

Well  and  spring  waters  from  large  cities  generally  contain  nitrates, 
which  arise  from  the  rapid  oxidation  of  nitrogenized  organic  matter. 
These  nitrates  in  the  water  prevent  the  formation  of  any  vegetable  matter, 
which  cannot  be  detected  by  the  microscope  even  after  it  has  been  long  kept. 

According  to  Heinrich  Rose,  of  Berlin,  “the  silicic  acid  (flint)  which 
exists  in  water,  is  probably  in  most  cases  one  of  the  constituents  of  the 
organic  substances,  and  that  it  is  partially  owing  to  animalculae  with 
silicious  (flinty)  coats,  (Bacillarise  and  Naviculse.”)  But  some  of  the 
silica  (flint)  is  most  undoubtedly  derived  from  the  burning  of  vegetable 
matter  on  farms ; the  potassa  and  the  silica  of  the  ash  fusing  together  in 
combustion  become  soluble  and  are  carried  by  rain  water  percolating  the 
soil  into  the  springs,  and  thence  into  the  rivers. 

WATER  AS  A SOLVENT. 

We  scarcely  think  of  water  as  an  active  chemical  agent,  while  the  fact 
is  its  poAvers  as  a solvent  are  very  extensive  over  solid,  liquid  and  gaseous 
forms  of  matter. 


4 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


In  some  cases  pure  water  dissolves  a substance  directly,  as  in  the  case 
°f  gypsum,  while  in  other  cases  water  in  order  to  become  a solvent  must 
first  combine  with  some  other  substance  as  in  the  solution  of  limestone 
by  first  combining  with  carbonic  acid.  Pure  water  scarcely  acts  upon 
limestone,  but  that  which  has  first  absorbed  fixed  air,  will  then  dissolve 
a hundredth  portion  of  limestone,  and  becomes  what  is  called  “limestone 
water.”  As  heat  will  expel  this  extraneous  or  absorbed  carbonic  acid,  the 
limestone  water  when  boiled  loses  one  portion  of  its  acid,  and  with  it  the 
power  of  holding  the  lime  any  longer  in  solution ; it  thus  becomes  milky 
and  the  lime  is  deposited  as  a erust  upon  the  inside  of  the  boiler,  as  the 
tea  kettle  or  the  steam  boiler.  As  lime  is  a common  ingredient  in  waters 
of  limestone  countries,  it  becomes  an  enquiry,  how  does  the  water  acquire 
the  carbonic  acid,  by  virtue  of  which  it  dissolves  the  lime  of  limestone. 

It  derives  it  in  part  from  the  atmosphere,  but  mostly  from  the  soil, 
especially  from  the  black  mould  formed  by  the  rotting  of  leaves,  wood,  &c. 
Water  passing  through  the  decaying  substance  in  the  soil  acquires  car- 
bonic acid  and  then  dissolves  the  first  lime  it  meets  with,  holding  it  in 
solution  as  bicarbonate  of  lime,  or  lime  with  a double  dose  of  carbonic 
acid.  Cold  springs,  in  this  part  of  Ohio,  are  often  abundant  in  this 
dissolved  limestone,  but  as  soon  as  the  water  is  discharged  to  the  open 
air  and  becomes  warm,  as  in  the  sun,  bubbles  of  gas  escape  and  the  water 
becomes  milky  by  deposited  lime.  The  streams  in  which  this  action  goes 
on  deposit  a crust  on  the  pebbles  over  which  they  run,  and  sometimes 
cement  those  pebbles  together.  In  this  manner  the  waters  of  the  Little 
Miami,  for  example,  might  deposit  much  of  their  lime  by  running  in  a 
shallow  stream  over  pebbles  heated  by  the  sun. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  perceived  that  when  the  property  called 
hardness  of  wrater  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  bicarbonate  of  lime,  it  can 
be  remedied  by  boiling  the  water,  which  dispels  one  half,  or  one  dose,  of 
the  carbonic  acid,  and  the  lime  will  then  settle  as  a proto  carbonate  of 
lime.  When  this  hardness  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  sulphate  of  lime 
(gypsum),  an  addition  of  carbonate  of  soda  will  precipitate  the  lime  as 
a proto  carbonate ; the  sulphuric  acid  which  was  united  with  the  lime 
combines  with  the  soda,  whose  carbonic  acid  has  united  with  the  lime. 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  make  some  remarks  on  the  details  of 
the  present  work. 

The  waters  and  their  histories  were  furnished  us  by  Lewis  Warden, 
Esq.,  Superintendent  of  the  City  Water  Works. 

After  having  filtered  the  mechanically  suspended  matter  from  these, 
we  took  five  portions  of  each  to  experiment  upon ; those  little  imperfec- 
tions which  we  discovered  during  these  experiments  are  noted  under  the 
head  of  “History  and  Remarks.”  The  sulphuric  acid  was  obtained 
from  one  lot  of  water,  the  chlorine  from  another,  a third  was  used  to 
obtain  the  solid  matter — from  this  residuum  or  solid  matter  the  lime,  etc., 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS.  5 

was  determined.  A fourth  lot  of  water  was  taken  from  which  to  procure 
the  potassa ; a fifth  was  used  as  a eheck  upon  the  results  obtained  from 
the  above. 

The  object  in  using  so  many  portions  of  water  was  to  avoid  the 
accumulation  of  impurities  from  tests,  although  the  tests  were  tested 
themselves.  The  filters  used  for  filtering  the  acid  solutions  were  mostly 
washed  with  hydro-chloric  acid  previous  to  experimenting  with  them, 
except  those  for  collecting  the  precipitate  of  chlorine,  in  which  case  nitric 
was  substituted.  These  rules  were  adhered  to  in  all  cases  but  one,  which 
is  doubtful.  (See  spring  water,  page  3.) 

As  most  substances  combine  in  known  proportions  only,  it  becomes 
unnecessary  to  separate  them  in  analysis  in  order  to  know  the  quantity  of 
each  of  the  constituents,  these  last  being  ascertained  by  calculation. 
Thus  when  we  obtain  a given  weight  of  proto  carbonate  of  lime  we  know 
that  the  carbonic  acid  and  the  lime  exist  in  it  in  the  proportion  of  22  of 
the  former  to  28  of  the  latter,  and  whatever  may  be  the  weight  obtained 
we  separate  it  into  two  quantities  by  calculation,  which  shall  have  the 
above  proportion,  calling  one  carbonic  acid  and  the  other  lime. 

In  the  determination  of  potassa,  we  have  it  in  the  form  of  potassa 
chloride  of  platinum,  in  which  the  potassa  bears  the  proportion  of  a 
little  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  whole,  and  as  we  weigh  the  precipitate 
within  less  than  a thousandth  of  a grain,*  we  weigh  the  potassa' within 
less  than  two-tenths  of  a thousandth  of  a grain.  With  regard  to  lime,  it 
is  a little  more  than  half  of  the  compound  from  which  we  estimate  it,  or 
in  the  ratio  of  0,562  to  1.  Silica  (flint)  we  procure  in  its  pure  state,  but 
magnesia  in  a combination  of  which  it  is  somewhat  more  than  a third,  or 
as  0,367  to  1.  Alumina  (clay),  like  silica,  is  procured  in  an  uncombined 
state.  Magnesia  in  this  case  was  determined  in  a compound  of  which  it 
formed  less  than  two-thirds.  Iron  is  generally  procured  as  a per  oxide. 
The  sulphuric  acid  was  estimated  from  a precipitate  of  sulphate  baryta, 
which  is  slightly  more  than  one-third  sulphuric  acid ; and  the  chlorine  from 
a compound  of  silver,  of  which  it  forms  less  than  one-fourth,  &c.  From 
this  view  of  the  subject  it  is  evident  that  the  results  can  be  attained  to  a 
degree  of  minuteness  unperceivable  by  the  balance : as  in  the  case  of 
potassa  mentioned  above,  if  the  precipitate  be  one-thousandth  of  a grain, 
which  is  weighable,  then  the  potassa  will  be  two  ten-thousandths  of  a 
grain,  which  is  calculated  though  not  weighable.  The  balance  used  was 
made  by  Robinson,  of  London,  and  so  nicely  suspended  on  jewels  as  to 
turn  decidedly  with  the  one-thousandth  part  of  a grain. 

After  having  procured  the  amount  of  acids  and  their  bases,  the  analvst 
has  then  followed  nature  as  far  into  her  mysteries  as  he  can  with  perfect 
assurance  of  his  being  correct.  When  he  combines  these  acids  and  bases, 
he  does  so  on  hypothesis,  although  he  is  most  likely  correct,  as  he  has 

yoVwnfha^aboif^a  tho^andth  ofEa  grC^L°^  a pieCe  a Bttto  leSS  than  three'tenths  of  an  inch  in  len*th 


c 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


circumstantial  evidence  for  what  he  does,  yet  he  lacks  that  direct  and 
decided  proof  which  has  guided  him  in  all  his  former  steps. 

As  the  use  of  lead  for  pipes,  cisterns,  &c.,  in  connection  with  the  Ohio 
water,  is  a subject  of  general  interest,  we  made  some  slight  experiments 
with  regard  to  this  point.  We  therefore  beg  leave  to  introduce  some 
general  remarks  and  practical  suggestions  upon  the  use  of  that  metal. 

We  find  the  use  of  lead  for  conducting  water,  condemned  by  the 
Roman  architect  Vitruvius,  who  it  is  supposed  flourished  in  the  age  of 
Caesar  and  Augustus.  He  says  “cerusse  is  formed  which  is  hurtful  to 
the  human  body.”  Gallen  also  eensures  the  use  of  lead  pipes.  There  is 
but  little  more  than  repetition  of  the  above  statements  till  the  close  of  the 
last  and  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  since  which  time 
science  has  unraveled  the  laws  that  regulate  the  actions  of  lead  and  water. 

Spring  and  river  waters  which  contain  minute  portions  of  neutral  salts, 
form  insoluble  compounds  with  the  lead  which  would  coat  a cistern;  pure 
water  dissolves  the  oxide  of  the  metal  which  remains  in  solution  until  it 
is  precipitated,  by  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air  as  a carbonate  of  lead ; but 
lead  is  not  dissolved  by  pure  water  when  the  atmosphere  is  excluded  as  it 
furnishes  the  oxygen  to  form  the  lead  into  an  oxide  previous  to  its  solution. 

The  acetate  of  soda  but  imperfectly  prevents  the  formation  of  the 
solution  of  the  oxide  of  lead ; when  a hundredth  part  of  the  acetate  of 
soda  is  dissolved  in  water  lead  placed  therein  loses  about  one -fourth  of 
what  it  would  in  distilled  water  in  the  same  length  of  time.  On  the 
contrary,  arsenite  of  soda  is  a complete  preservative  when  dissolved  in  the 
proportion  of  a twelve-thousandth  part.  Phosphate  of  soda  and  hydrio- 
date  of  potassa  are  almost  as  effectual  preservatives  in  the  proportion  of  a 
thirty-thousandth  part  only  of  the  'water.  It  requires  a two-thousandth 
of  chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt)  and  a four-thousandth  of  sulphate 
of  lime.  Nitrate  of  potassa  (nitre)  is  but  little  superior  to  the  acetate  of 
soda;  when  water  contains  a hundredth  part  of  this  nitrate  it  almost 
entirely  prevents  any  action ; but  if  the  quantity  be  reduced  to  a hundred- 
and-sixtieth  the  loss  sustained  by  the  lead  is  fully  a third  of  that  dissolved 
in  distilled  water. 

Chirstison  makes  the  statement  that  water  which  contains  a ten- 
thousandth  or  a twelve-thousandth  of  salts  may  be  safely  conveyed  in 
lead  pipes,  if  the  salts  in  the  water  be  chiefly  carbonates  and  sulphates : 
that  lead  pipes  cannot  be  safely  used  when  it  contains  a four-thousandth 
of  saline  matter,  if  this  consists  chiefly  of  muriates  (chlorides). 

By  the  above  rule  we  are  within  the  bounds  of  safety  in  conveying 
the  Ohio  water  in  lead  pipes  even  when  we  leave  off  the  salts  of  soda. 
(See  remarks  and  experiments  on  the  water  of  the  Ohio.) 

Water  in  leaden  vessels  is  sometimes  contaminated  by  the  effects  of  the 
galvanic  current  which  generally  requires  the  presence  of  two  metals,  viz: 
lead  and  the  solder,  which  is  used  to  unite  it ; this  is  probably  a source  of 
galvanic  action  in  cisterns,  also,  the  iron,  copper  and  brass  rods  and  wires 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS.  7 

which  are  used  therein.  This  electrical  action  may  take  place  even 
without  the  presence  of  another  metal,  by  parts  of  the  same  piece  of  lead, 
for  example,  being  of  a different  quality  caused  by  more  or  less  impurities, 
and  thus  acting  as  different  metals ; this  will  explain  why  sheet  lead  cor- 
rodes sometimes  in  spots  when  exposed  to  the  air  or  water. 

Lead-lined  cisterns,  to  contain  water  for  culinary  purposes,  should  always 
be  filled  nearly  to  the  top,  and  should  not  have  lead  covers,  for  the  water 
is  slowly  evaporated  and  then  condensed  on  the  metal,  thus  covering  it  with 
distilled  water  which  dissolves  the  oxide  and  accumulating  drops  into  the 
cistern,  carrying  the  dissolved  lead  with  it.  The  equilibrium  of  the  water 
can  be  easily  maintained  where  the  cistern  is  supplied  by  a pipe  by  using 
the  common  automatic  ball  and  stop-cock. 

A remarkable  instance  of  the  above  mode  of  poisoning  is  mentioned  by 
the  Compte  de  Milly,  in  a paper  read  by  him  before  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  at  Paris.  About  a year  after  having  two  leaden  cisterns  placed 
in  his  house,  to  hold  the  water  of  the  Seine  for  domestic  purposes,  he 
was  attacked  with  severe  and  obstinate  colic.  This  led  him  to  examine 
his  cisterns ; he  found  that  the  sides  where  they  were  occasionally  left 
exposed  by  the  subsidence  of  the  water,  and  more  especially  the  tops 
were  covered  with  a white  liquid  which  was  constantly  dropping  into  the 
water  of  the  cisterns  which  gave  decided  evidences  of  lead.  But  the 
Seine  contains  such  an  amount  of  salts  that  it  will  not  dissolve  lead  placed 
within  it. 

Rain  and  snow  waters  should  never  be  retained  in  leaden  cisterns,  as 
such  waters  are  of  sufficient  purity  to  dissolve  the  coating;  nor  should 
water  collected  from  buildings  covered  with  lead  be  used  for  general 
domestic  purposes.  This  was  forcibly  illustrated  at  Amsterdam,  at  the 
time  such  roofs  were  substituted  for  tiled  ones  in  that  city.  The  lead 
colic  became  general  and  committed  great  ravages.  This  was  undoubt- 
edly caused  by  the  water  which  was  collected  from  the  roofs  for  culinary 
purposes ; the  same  is  mentioned  as  having  occurred  at  Harlem. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  SPECIMENS  ANALYZED,  WITH  REMARKS. 

[In  the  arrangement  of  the  tables  the  waters  analyzed  by  ourselves  are  placed  in  the 
order  of  their  purity,  the  purest  being  in  column  A &c.] 

OHIO  RIVER  WATER,  TWELVE  MILES  BELOW  BIG  SANDY  RIVER. 

Column  A.  in  the  Tables. 

The  object  in  taking  the  water  of  this  part  of  the  Ohio  was  to  procure 
the  analysis  of  its  waters  before  their  entrance  into  the  limestone  region. 
The  specimen  was  collected  May  7th,  1853,  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  five 
feet  below  the  surface,  the  river  being  in  a “ medium  stage. ” It  is  the 
purest  water  that  we  find  in  this  collection  of  “western  waters, ” and 
contains  less  solid  matter  than  is  found  in  the  Schuylkill  river;  it  also 
possesses  the  strange  characteristic  of  being  an  alkaline  water. 

2 


8 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


WATER  FROM  THE  OHIO  RIVER  AT  CINCINNATI. 

Column  B.  in  the  Tables. 

The  Ohio  River  water  was  taken  from  a hydrant  on  Third  or  Symmes 
street,  on  the  23d  day  of  October,  1852,  the  river  being  like  the  others 
low  and  quite  clear.  This  as  its  position  indicates  is  the  second  in  purity, 
not  containing  more^than  one -half  the  foreign  matter  found  in  the  best  of 
the  remaining  specimens,  and  when  compared  with  the  analysis  of 
Croton  River,  (No.  2,  Table  II,)  by  Prof.  Silliman,  jr.,  we  are  astonished 
at  the  close  resemblance.  The  solid  matter  from  a gallon  of  Ohio  water 
exceeding  that  of  the  Croton  by  only  0,076,  seventy -six-thousandth  of  a 
grain;  but  it  contains  fifty  per  cent,  more  than  the  Schuylkill.  We  find 
the  same  constituents  in  the  Ohio  and  Croton  rivers,  with  the  exception 
that  in  the  Ohio  we  have  potassa,  which  is  not  reported  as  having  existence 
in  the  Croton  water, — whilst  the  last  mentioned  contains  phosphate  of 
alumina,  which  is  not  found  in  the  Ohio,  at  least,  in  the  specimen  which 
we  examined. 

EXAMINATION  OF  THE  WATER  OF  THE  OHIO  WHICH  HAD  BEEN  RETAINED 
IN  LEAD  CISTERNS. 

We  took  some  water  of  the  Ohio  from  a leaden  cistern  (Analysis  No. 
15)  which  had  been  used  for  several  years,  and  the  water  taken  from  it 
had  remained  there  for  two  months.  On  evaporating  we  found  no  lead, 
but  3,672  grains  of  solid  matter  to  a gallon  of  the  liquid.  We  then  took 
25  grains  of  the  sediment  from  the  same  cistern,  in  which  there  was 
0,294  grains  of  lead,  or  1,176  per  cent.  It  is  evident  from  the  preceeding 
that  the  salts  in  the  water  prevented  the  solution  of  the  oxide  of  lead, 
and  at  the  same  time  purified  instead  of  contaminating  the  water ; this 
last  is  clearly  shown,  as  regards  other  materials,  by  the  small  quantity  of 
solid  matter  per  gallon,  which  is  less  than  that  found  in  the  water  of  the 
Schuylkill  river. 

Water  was  taken  from  another  cistern,  which  was  comparitively  new, 
in  which  the  water  examined  had  remained  about  six  weeks.  It  was 
found  to  contain  the  slightest  imponderable  trace  of  lead.  This  was 
probably  owing  to  the  acid  compound  used  when  the  joints  were  soldered. 
In  both  of  these  specimens  of  water  there  was  a slight  opalesence  sup- 
posed to  be  caused  by  lead.  When  lead  was  not  found  in  one  of  them 
we  were  at  considerable  of  a nonplus,  but  contrary  to  expectations  the 
opalesence  proved  to  have  its  origin  from  the  presence  of  tin  derived  from 
the  solder.  It  was  in  the  proportion  of  a nine-hundred-and-fifty-thou- 
sandth  part  of  the  water.  Too  much  reliance  must  not  be  placed  upon  the 
results  of  these  few  experiments,  for  many  circumstances  beyond  our 
knowledge  may  have  modified  the  results,  such  as  the  presence  of  foreign 
materials  in  the  cistern, — nor  are  we  aware  of  the  “ stage  of  the  river’ ’ 
at  the  time  these  cisterns  were  filled. 

The  field  is  a wide  and  fertile  one,  much  of  interest  and  importance 
is  connected  with  it.  It  seems  from  our  experiments  that  there  is,  in 


ALALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


9 


leaden  cisterns  holding  the  Ohio  water,  sediment  which  contains  lead, 
and  as  this  sediment  may  be  agitated  and  present  itself  in  the  water, 
there  might  be  danger  in  using  it.  When  a pipe  descends  from  a cistern 
and  the  water  is  drawn  from  the  lower  end  of  it,  sediment  might  accu- 
mulate during  the  night  and  be  drawn  at  the  first  opening  in  the  morning. 
As  there  are  several  ways  in  which  it  is  possible  to  receive  the  lead  poison 
from  lead-lined  cisterns,  the  use  of  the  water  which  they  contain  should 
be  avoided  if  possible.  Prof.  Mussey  informs  us  that  he  has  seen  symp- 
toms of  lead  poison  in  Cincinnati  and  has  detected  the  metal  in  our 
hydrant  water,  when  retained  in  a cistern,  and,  also,  when  conducted 
through  long  leaden  pipes.  But  such  cases  are  not  common. 

LITTLE  MIAMI  RIVER  WATER. 

Column  C.  in  the  Tables. 

The  water  of  the  Little  Miami  River  was  procured  from  the  centre  of  the 
stream,  and  in  a fair  current,  on  the  27th  day  of  September,  1852.  The 
specimen  was  in  a stone  jug,  tightly  corked  and  sealed ; it  is  next  to  the 
Ohio  w^ter  in  purity,  differing  from  it  widely  by  having  over  a hundred 
per  cent,  more  solid  mater,  and  a large  quantity  of  potassa  and  phos- 
phates, in  the  last  named  varying  from  all  the  others.  So  large  was  this 
yield  of  phosphates  that  it  led  me  to  make  another  analysis  for  them  in 
particular.  This  large  quantity  of  phosphates  in  the  water  may  very 
naturally  account  for  the  great  fertility  of  the  bottom  lands  of  that  stream, 
which  are  subject  to  inundation. 

WHITE  WATER  RIVER.— (SECOND  SPECIMEN,) 

Column  I).  in  the  Tables. 

This  specimen  was  brought  to  the  Laboratory  in  a glass  demijohn, 
tightly  sealed.  After  having  made  the  examination  of  the  first  specimen 
(column  I.)  it  was  thought  advisable  to  analyze  a second,  on  account  of 
accidental  impurities  which  the  first  contained. 

This  analysis  should  not  be  taken  strictly  in  comparison  with  the  others 
as  the  water  was  collected  at  a different  stage,  and  at  a different  season 
of  the  year. 

WATER  FROM  THE  GREAT  MIAMI  BELOW  THE  JUNCTION  WITH  MAD  RIVER. 

Column  E.  in  the  Tables. 

This  water  was  taken  in  a brisk  current  on  the  29th  day  of  September, 
1852. 

It  was  placed  in  two  porter  bottles.  When  it  was  poured  out  there  was 
a slight  smell  of  hydrosulphuric  acid,  which  was  undoubtedly  owing  to 
the  decomposition  of  organic  matter  left  from  the  porter  or  ale  which  the 
bottles  had  contained ; indeed,  this  is  somewhat  confirmed  by  the  fact 
that,  when  pouring  out  the  water,  there  escaped  from  the  bottle  a mem- 
branous substance,  which,  upon  examination,  proved  to  be  non-vital 
vegetable  matter.  I do  not  think  it  has  materially  effected  the  result  of 
the  analysis. 


10  ANALYSES  OP  WESTERN  WATERS. 


GREAT  MIAMI  ABOVE  MAD  RIVER  JUNCTION. 

Column  F.  in  the  Tables . 

This,  like  the  preceeding,  was  taken  from  the  stream  in  a brisk  current, 
on  the  29fch  of  September,  1852. 

There  is  nothing  striking  in  this  water,  except  its  hardness. 

The  chemist,  Brand,  in  speaking  of  the  Thames  river,  which  supplies 
the  greater  part  of  the  city  of  London  with  water,  says:  “The  saline 
contents  of  a gallon  of  Thames  water  do  not  exceed  24  grains,  which  in 
its  purest  state  fall  short  of  16  grains,  and  this  is  chiefly  carbonate  of 
lime,  with  chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt)  and  chloride  of  magnesium.” 
It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a resemblance  in  this  Thames  water  to-  the 
waters  of  the  Miamis,  which  might  be  expected,  as  they  all  have  their 
source  in  rocks  of  a similar  kind. 

, MAD  RIVER  WATER. 

Column  G.  in  the  Tables. 

This  water  was  taken  from  the  stream,  in  a brisk  current,  on  the  29th 
day  of  September,  1852.  It  is  the  most  thoroughly  impregnated  with 
foreign  substances  of  any  of  the  river  waters  we  have  analyzed  or  seen 
reported. 

The  Miami  rivers  have  their  sources  in  the  cliff  limestone  region,  where 
the  rocks  abound  more  or  less  with  magnesian  limestone,  and  hence  they 
exhibit  a comparatively  large  quantity  of  magnesia.  The  Little  Miami 
at  all  points  below  Xenia  receives  its  tributaries  from  the  blue  limestone 
region,  abounding  with  blue  clay-marl.  This  marl,  we  have  ascer- 
tained, contains  phosphates,  and  hence  the  abundance  of  these  in  its 
waters  is  explained.  But  the  parallel  part  of  Big  Miami  drawing  its 
waters  also  from  the  blue  limestone  region,  does  not  exhibit  the  same 
phenomenon;  this  is  partly  accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  the  Big 
Miami  receives  a larger  proportion  of  its  waters  from  the  cliff  limestone. 
The  specimens  of  water  from  Mad  River  and  from  the  Big  Miami,  both 
above  and  below  the  mouth  of  Mad  River,  are  really  from  the  cliff 
limestone.  The  remainder  of  the  course  of  the  Great  Miami,  viz : from 
Dayton  downwards,  is  in  the  blue  limestone. 

WATER  FROM  A SPRING  AT  THE  BREWERY  ON  SYCAMORE  HILL. 

Column  H.  in  the  Tables. 

By  reference  to  the  tables  it  will  be  seen  that  the  sum  of  the  ingredients 
of  this  specimen  are  greater  than  the  solid  matter  from  evaporating  a 
standard  quantity.  This  was  probably  owing  to  the  acid  solution  of  the 
solid  matter  being  passed  through  a filter  from  which  it  dissolved  lime, 
the  precaution  not  having  been  taken  to  wash  the  filter  previously  with 
acid.  This  excess  is  0,06  in  5000  grs.  of  the  water. 

This  spring  at  the  Brewery,  we  understand  to  have  produced  fatal 
cholera  in  all  persons  who  used  it  during  the  prevalence  of  that  epidemic 
in  the  city.  The  analysis  reveals  the  fact  that  the  spring  abounded  in  the 
salts  of  lime.  It  contains  ten  times  as  much  sulphate  and  muriate  of  lime 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS.  11 

as  any  other  water  analyzed  by  Prof.  Silliman  or  ourselves.  It  contains 
also  more  carbonate  of  lime  than  any  other  water.  It  is  no  place  here  to 
take  up  the  speculations  with  regard  to  the  causes  of  cholera,  but  we 
venture  to  present  a few  remarks  with  regard  to  this  spring.  Physiology 
represents  life  as  a force  which  resists  chemical  and  mechanical  agents  so 
far  as  to  prevent  their  decomposing  the  vital  organs,  and  as  controling 
those  agents  in  such  a manner  as  to  make  them  contribute  to  its  own  pur- 
poses. Diseases  may  be  represented  as  a contest  between  life  and  those 
agents,  or  between  life  and  some  unnatural  agent  or  poison  in  which  the 
external  agent  has  so  far  gained  the  advantage  as  to  disturb  or  suspend 
some  of  the  vital  functions.  Agreeably  to  this  view  it  is  evident  that  the 
unknown  poison  which  causes  epidemic  cholera  may  not  be  sufficient  alone 
to  overcome  the  vital  force.  Yet,  by  the  aid  of  other  agents  acting  in 
conjunction,  death  may  be  the  result.  Now,  cholera  has  occurred  in  too 
many  instances  where  neither  calcareous  nor  magnesian  waters  were  used 
to  allow  us  to  consider  these  waters  as  the  cause  of  the  disease.  But,  as 
calcareous  waters  are  known  to  produce  diarrhea  and  a species  of  cholera 
in  persons  in  robust  health  not  accustomed  to  them,  it  is  very  natural  to 
suppose  that  when  the  unknown  cause  of  cholera  has  almost  overcome 
the  vital  force  the  aid  afforded  by  hard  or  cathartic  waters  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  decide  the  point  and  produce  death.  This  is  commonly  expressed 
by  saying  that  the  cholera  poison  is  the  predisposing  cause,  and  the  hard 
water  the  exciting  one.  I think  it  better  to  say  the  unknown  cause  of 
cholera  alone  might  prove  insufficient,  but  by  the  aid  of  an  ally  acting 
to  the  same  point  it  gains  a victory  over  life. 

The  waters  used  in  Paris,  France,  are  charged  with  sulphate  of  lime, 
which  produces  in  almost  all  strangers,  after  a few  days  residence,  a 
disease  called  the  “Cholera  de  Seine, ” or  Cholera  de  l’Etranger,”  for  the 
river  Seine  is  hard  from  the  above  named  salt ; and  how  fatal  was  the 
cholera  in  Paris  ? fatal  from  its  able  ally,  hard  water. 

According  to  this  view  of  the  subject,  the  spring  at  the  Brewery  on 
Sycamore  hill  is  admirably  calculated  to  act  as  the  aid  of  epidemic 
cholera  in  its  hostility  to  human  life. 

WHITE  WATER  RIVER. (FIRST  SPECIMEN.) 

Column  I in  the  Tables . 

The  jug  in  which  this  specimen  was  brought  had  contained  vinegar, 
and  was  not  thoroughly  washed ; so  much  did  it  contain  that  it  converted 
the  carbonates  into  acetates  and  dissolved  the  glazing  from  the  jug ; this 
was  the  source  of  the  manganese  which  the  water  contained. 

It  may  be  as  well  here  to  state  that  waters  for  analysis  should  be  placed 
in  glass  bottles,  which  should  be  thoroughly  washed  and  then  rinsed  with 
the  water  they  are  to  contain.  After  having  filled  the  bottles,  the  corks 
should  be  forced  in  so  as  to  displace  the  superabundant  water  and  exclude 
all  air,  then  they  should  be  hermetically  sealed  and  fully  labeled. 


12 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


The  neglect  of  these  precautions  is  frequently  the  source  of  great 
errors  which  the  analyst  has  no  way  of  correcting. 

OF  THE  RESULTS  AS  PRESENTED  IN  THE  TABLES. 

The  first  step  in  the  analysis  of  each  specimen  was  to  evaporate  a 
standard  quantity  by  measurement  and  weigh  the  whole  solid  residuum, 
obtained  by  simple  evaporation.  As,  howeveT,  there  are  a few  elements 
not  attempted  to  be  ascertained  by  quantity  in  the  details,  it  is  expected 
that  the  sum  of  the  items  will  fall  a little  short  of  the  solid  residuum 
above  named ; the  deficit  is  attributed  to  those  un weighed  items,  No.  25, 
in  the  second  table,  where  it  will  be  seen  that  they  amount  in  the  most  to 
a little  over  a grain  in  a gallon,  except  in  the  water  brought  from  the 
White  Water  River,  which  was  accidentally  impure,  and  therefore  not  a 
sample  of  a natural  water. 

The  business  of  an  analyst  is  an  occupation  against  the  errors  of  which 
the  public  have  no  check,  except  the  reliance  upon  the  integrity  and  skill 
of  the  operator.  Indeed,  the  analyst  himself  is  liable  to  be  deceived, 
unless  he  uses  checks  and  balances,  as  in  accounts  in  book-keeping. 
These  checks  upon  a public  work,  like  the  present,  we  have  endeavored 
to  introduce  in  such  a manner  as  to  feel  fully  satisfied  ourselves  of  the 
truth  of  the  results. 

The  first  table  contains  the  original  results  from  which  the  second  was 
formed.  We  have  introduced  it  here  in  order  to  guard  against  any  errors 
of  calculation  by  which  the  second  table  was  made,  and  also  to  give  the 
acids  and  bases  uncombined  so  that  their  relative  quantities  can  be  easily 
seen. 

The  second  table  contains  the  substances  combined  according  to  the 
best  authorities,  presenting  the  whole  matter  in  the  usual  form.  For  the 
purpose  of  comparison  we  have  introduced  Prof.  Silliman’s  analyses  of 
the  eastern  waters  on  the  first  part,  and  those  of  the  western  waters  made 
by  ourselves  upon  the  second  part  of  the  page,  constituting,  however,  one 
table  in  which  the  substances  or  constituents  dissolved  in  the  water  are 
named  in  the  left  hand  column. 

This  table  gives  the  carbonates  as  proto-carbonates,  (or  one  portion  of 
carbonic  acid  to  one  of  the  base,)  which  is  the  state  in  which  they  are 
found  in  the  residuum  after  evaporation,  yet  in  the  water  they  exist  as 
per-carbonates  (or  two  portions  of  carbonic  acid  to  one  of  the  base). 
The  second  portion  of  carbonic  acid  is  necessary  to  form  a soluble  com- 
pound, and  when  the  water  is  boiled  the  lime  and  magnesia  are  precipita- 
ted as  proto-carbonates  by  half  of  the  acid  being  expelled  by  the  heat. 

In  the  second  table,  No.  1 is  the  supply  for  the  city  of  Philadelphia ; 
No.  2 for  New  York;  and  No.  5 for  Boston.  Nos.  4 and  6 are  small 
lakes  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  ; and  No.  3 is  a river  in  Massachusetts, 
emptying  at  Boston. 


No.  1. 

Contains  the  weight  of  the  substances  found  in  5000  grains  (by  measurement) 
of  each  specimen  of  water. 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


13 


t-H 

White  Water  River 

2.975 

0.492953 

0.103956 

0.005606 

Trace. 

0.099662 

0.947973 

0.062475 

Trace. 

0.037122 

0.053534 

s ; 

<M  ~ 

si 

Spring  at  the  Brew- 
ery on  Syc.  Hill 

2.54  * 

1.191948 

0.224633 

%%  : 

* 

o8  : 

dd  1 

Trace. 

0.596010 

0.172196 

0.753298 

I : 

cd  H 

d 

Mad  River 

1.633 

0.617586 

0.207809 

Trace. 

0.006775 

0.005759 

« ,ir, 

o!  018995  o! 018009 

0.673088  0.731347 

1 

% 

d 

Big  Miami,  above 
thejnnetion  of  Mad 
River 

1.551 

0.538388 

0.216788 

0.000773 

0. 007755 : 
0.020282 

: 

1 lc 
1 lc 

w 

Big  Miami,  below 
the  junction  of  Mad 
River 

coo oo  a 
t—  OO  CO  ? 
OiOHO  ? 
TfTt<C<IO  - 
Hood 

0.071568 

0.115307 

0.201076 

0.018749 

0.469274 

OJ 

Q 

White  Water  River 

1.302 

0.487092 

0.118154 

• OOQO  • 

: 

IoSh  i 
loo  ’ 

Trace. 

0.025435 

0.003700 

0.518443 

1.302 

d 

Little  Miami  River. 

1.27 

0.259149 

0.105977 

0.033254 

0.064770 
0.087409 
0.083920 
n 939770 

Trace, 

0.040559 

0.046132 

0.309060 

1.27 

PQ 

Ohio  River  at  Cin- 
cinnati, Oct.  23,  ’52. 

0.577 

0.157260 

0.067709 

0.000580 

: 

188  1 
:gS  : 
loo"  1 

Trace. 

U . U'ttUOO 

0.024670 
0. 130007 

tO 

o 

Ohio  River  12  miles 
below  Big  Sandy, 
May  7, 1853 

0.343 

0.070219 

0.022948 

• O • 

•o • 

i 

jSS  : 
Ido  1 

Trace. 

• t~a. 

Idoo 

• — c-i 

Idd 

Total 0.343  1 

B 

s 

■< 

Solid  Matter 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Potassa 

Alumina 

Silica  (flint) 

Nitric  and  Organie  Acid  with  Soda 

Phosphate  of  Lime 

jruuspiictit;  ui  

Maganese 

Iron 

Suiphurie  Acid 1 

Chlorine 

Carbonic  Acid 

* The  “total”  is  greater  in  this  analysis  than  the  “solid  matter;”  by 
referring  to  page  10,  remarks  on  column  H.  in  the  Tables  the  probable  reasons 
will  be  found. 


14 


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ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


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White  Water  River 


Little  Miami  River. 


Ohio  River  at  Cin- 
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ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS, 


15 


SHOWING  THE  RELATIVE  AMOUNT  OF  SOLID  MATTER  IN  A GIVEN  QUANTITY 
4 OF  WATER. 


miles  below  Big  Sandy  ” is  four-twentieths  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  the 
weight  of  the  solid  matter  of  a gallon  of  the  water  was  four  grains  and 
a slight  fraction. 


3 


16 


ANALYSES  OF  WESTERN  WATERS. 


It  is  highly  gratifying  to  see  our  citizens  and  city  authorities  attending 
to  those  subjects  of  scientific  interest  which  tend  to  place  us  on  a level 
with  our  neighbors  (who  are  quite  enough  inclined  to  treat  us  as  inferiors), 
and  at  the  same  time  contribute  to  our  convenience  and  happiness.  It  is 
not  unfrequently  that  we  see  persons,  even  occupying  public  stations, 
entertaining  a peculiar  malignant  hostility  to  every  thing  which  can  be 
called  scientific — pronouncing  even  the  word  scientific  with  a contemptu- 
ous sneer.  If  science  were  what  they  assume  it  to  be,  pedentry  and 
pretension,  they  would  be  justified.  What  is  true  science  ? It  is  truth 
: j expressed  in  its  simplest  form , and  applied  to  the  benefit  and  happiness  of 
! mankind.  WLo  is  ready  to  declare  himself  against  science  thus  defined? 

Nature  has  done  much  for  the  West.  The  broadness  and  transparent 
simplicity  of  our  geology,  where  our  materials  are  stratified  in  plains 
nearly  horizontal,  give  a similar  obvious  simplicity  to  our  agriculture  and 
manufactures.  In  ascertaining  the  composition  of  our  waters  we  receive 
aid  from  a knowledge  of  our  easily  learned  geology.  Pointing  to  the 
sandstone  region  as  affording  the  purest  waters,  the  limestone  region  as 
furnishing  highly  calcareous  and  fertilizing  springs  and  the  contacts  of 
strata,  as  shale  and  limestone,  yielding  mineral  springs  containing  iron 
and  sulphur,  while  from  the  deep  caverns  of  the  sandstone  we  draw  the 
salt  for  our  food.  JOHN  LOCKE,  M.  D., 

JOSEPH  M.  LOCKE,  Prof.  Chem.  and  P harm. 

Assistant  to  the  Prof.  Chemistry , dc.,  Medical  College  of  Ohio . 

It  is  gratifying  to  me  to  be  able  to  say  that  the  manipulations  and 
, calculations  of  these  analyses  have  been  ably  performed  by  my  Assistant. 
He  also  drew  up  several  parts  of  this  Report,  and  has  shown  all  of  that 
industry  and  faithfulness  which  are  so  important  in  a work  of  the  kind. 
Above  all,  he  has  shown  that  conscientious  regard  for  the  indications  of 
the  balance,  that  religious  adherence  to  truth  so  desirable — not  only  in 
analysis — but  in  all  the  transactions  of  life.  When  he  found,  in  one 
instance,  an  error  of  a small  fraction  of  a grain  (sixty-four-thousandths 
of  a grain  in  five  thousand  of  water)  by  which  the  sum  of  the  items 
overrun  the  whole  weight  of  solid  matter  as  obtained  by  evaporation,  he 
was  very  much  concerned  about  it,  and  instead  of  forcing  an  agreement 
by  subtracting  a little  from  each  item,  as  is  not  unfrequently  done  in  such 
cases,  he  preferred  recording  the  facts  just  as  they  had  presented  them- 
selves. This  conscientiousness  in  matters  of  physical  research  is  a quality 
of  a higher  grade  than  perhaps  he  was  aware  of.  As  my  son  is  now 
making  Practical  Chemistry  a profession,  I venture  to  recommend  him  to 
the  patronage  of  the  public.  The  interested  relation  which  a father  holds 
to  a son  is  a good  reason  why  he  should  not  recommend  him  unwarrant- 
ably ; but  it  is  not  a reason  why  he  should  withhold  from  him  that  credit 
which  he  knows  to  be  due.  JOHN  LOCKE. 


! 


